Harry Potter and The Cost of Souls
by crookshank17
Summary: Post 7th book Harry’s 7th and most grueling year yet. As he faces struggles with his own powers, who to trust and which path to take, Harry finds himself in situations far surpassing anything he has ever seen before, and in the shadows lurks Voldemort. R
1. An Unexpected Visitor

Hey all, I started this over a year ago and lost motivation but found it again after reading the 7th book. Cannon up until book 7 then this is all my writing. I wrote until chapter 7 before losing interest so after chapt 7 will be my new ideas after reading Deathly Hallows so no spoilers yet. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy!

P.S. I take no credit for J.K.R. wonderful world or characters, they are all hers.

An Unexpected Visitor

A boy with bright, vivid green eyes and dark, messy black hair stared out of the window of his small, messy room. He barely took in anything, only absently noting the perfectly lined houses and the overly manicured lawns that surrounded him. With a sigh he pressed his forehead against the cool glass, the cold felt refreshing against his scar which seemed to always been tingling with pain these days. Actually, he noted dryly, it had been tingling with pain for about two years, only now he barely noticed it anymore.

His breaths were slowly fogging up the glass and blocking his view of the street but he didn't care. His mind wasn't on the street. His mind was in a deeper, darker place. One full of horrors that no sixteen your old boy should ever have to visit, or even know about.

Like a vile interloper, the images of his parent dying, the green light and the screams had constantly been in the back of his mind since his third year of school. Since then he had also added the images of witnessing Cedric's death and Voldemort's return. The horrors of that night were only the beginning of the deaths that would soon come.

He could see the Department of Mysteries and the image of Sirius stumbling backwards through the veil, eyes wide in disbelief; Death Eaters covering the department room like vermin. The death of his Godfather had changed the boy, made him grow quicker than one should be forced to grow. But the change was not nearly as outwardly apparent as the change that had come over him in the last few months. Over those last few months the boy that had used to live on the inside had vanished. With the death of his beloved headmaster; his mentor and friend, there was also another death that was unknown to the world. The innocence and naïveté that had once lived within him had died, leaving an anguished and hardened soul.

He had never been like others and would never be like then; he had known that from the start. He had grown up in a muggle world and had always been an outcast there. His relatives despised him and he had no real friends but that had all changed when he had blissfully received that letter which revealed his true heritage and the hidden life that he had always been meant to live.

Upon entering Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry he had experienced something he had never known before. He found himself with friends for the first time in his life and in a place where not only did people acknowledge his existence, but actually sought him out. For the first time in his memory he had known what it felt like to be somewhat normal.

But that had quickly changes as the years melted away and he had been forced to meet with the darkest wizard know to man, not once, but four times; barely escaping with his life on every encounter. No, he was anything but normal in everyone's eyes. He was The Boy Who Lived, The Chosen One, The Hero…he was expected to do all of these amazing things and save the world when he wasn't even able to save those he cared about. He felt like the entire weight of the world was on his shoulders and the load was an impossible one to carry.

He let out a deep breath, causing the fog to spread violently, then slowly begin to shrink into it's self, disappearing. He wished he could disappear. No, he thought tiredly, I can't disappear. Dumbledore had left him a job. He had to finish what had already been started. He had to find the Horocruxes and destroy them before he could truly face the man responsible for all of the grief in his life. Once he had disposed of the remaining souls, then he, Harry Potter, could finally face Voldemort. How the outcome of that battle would result, Harry had no idea, but he knew one part of the prophecy was right. He would not be able to rest until one of them was dead.

Slowly he pulled his head back from the window and gazed around the small, cluttered room. Books and parchments were scattered all over the place, covering the desk, the nightstand and the floor. Since he had returned he had spent every spare moment of his time reading and studying magic. All he did every waking hour was sit in the cramped room that the Dursley's had given him and read up on anything that might help him.

He had received several useful books from his friends and those in the Order of the Phoenix, with letters attached full of confident words and well wishes. He had only returned two of those all summer to there growing concern and displeasure.

He knew that his friends were beginning to get angry with him, he could sense it in there letters which had been growing shorter and less personable as the days progressed and they had received no response. Finally, unable to avoid responding any longer, Harry had written Ron a quick letter saying that he would greatly appreciate the Weasley's coming to pick him up on his birthday. He knew there was no way around it. He would have to leave as soon at the protection was gone and the Weasley's home was the only place he could imagine going to until he figure out a steady plan.

The other letter he had wrote was to Hermione about a two week into their summer break. Well it wasn't really a break for him because he had no intention of going back to school but it was easier to not think about what he faced in the upcoming months and choose to think of it like a break. He had written in response to a very concerned letter he had received from Hermione after he had not responded to their first few. He could vividly remember the heart felt words that Hermione had etched onto paper.

Harry,

Please write back to us, we are so concerned about you. I know that it must be just horrible for you being with those relatives of yours and having to deal with... well everything… but please don't push us away again. What Ron and I told you at the end of last year still stands true. We will be with you until the end of all this and it is our choice to help you and you should respect our decision and don't push us away like you have with Ginny. We all care about you and want to help you. This war is affecting everyone and anyone can be harmed so please don't avoid us just because you think it might keep us from getting hurt because it wont. We are your best friends and have been through so much together. Please don't go out and try to do this on your own; let us help you, it might make things easier.

We are all with you Harry  
With much love,  
Hermione

After reading that Harry had felt awful about avoiding her and Ron. They had stood beside him in every challenge that had come and he knew he wasn't being fair by just closing them out but he couldn't bring himself to letting them back in either. If either if them was killed because of him then he would never be able to live with himself. He had quickly scratched off a note telling her that he knew she was there for him and that he wouldn't go anywhere without telling them first. It was the best he could do to reassure her even though it wasn't much.

But he had been true to his word and had not left once. He had decided upon returning that he would stay until his birthday and learn as much as he could before the protection was gone. Then he would truly be on his own.

He had been back with the Dursley's for over a month now and only had one more day to go before he could leave this revolting place that had never been a home. The date was the 30th of July and in a little hours he would officially become an adult in his world, the only world that mattered to him.

In one day the protection that his mother had left him would also be gone. He was torn between the happiness of knowing that he would never have to darken the Dursley's door again and the sorrow that accompanied the knowledge that the one thing his parents had left him, the protection they had given him by giving up their lives, would vanish. In a way that protection had made it seem as if his parents were almost there, protecting him like a mother and father only could. With it gone, it seemed like another small string that had attached him to them would be gone as well.

A knock on the front door brought him out of his broodings. He glanced quickly to the small clock on his bed stand; it read 10: 20. Uncle Vernon could easily be heard grumbling below, "un-thoughtful hooligans, who would be appearing at this time of night… indecent I say!" The complaining was immediately cut off as he opened the door, "Yes?" Harry heard him ask, the annoyance highly evident in his voice. He couldn't hear the response and felt a growing curiosity over who was at the door. They rarely received visitors and never at this hour.

"You're here to take the boy off of our hands?" Uncle's Vernon's voice rang out in surprise. Frowning, Harry walked over to his desk and picked up his wand. He had received no word from the Weasley's that anyone was coming for him early. They had planned it all out that he would leave at exactly eleven thrity that night, right before the protection ended. They had all been very clear about the time and who would come because everyone was terribly jumpy what with all of the attacks that had been happening everywhere.

"Boy get down here!" His uncle shouted happily. Harry knew that he would be all too happy to get rid of him earlier than planned. His relatives had been practically counting the seconds down before he would leave.

Slowly Harry crept down the stairs, wand held tightly behind his back. He was still protected by his parents sacrifice so he doubted it was an attack, but he decdied to play it safe anyways.

Reaching the foot of the stairs, Harry received his first glance of the figure standing in the doorway. Whoever it was completely covered in a dark brown cloak that revealed nothing. "You didn't tell us that you would be leaving early," Uncle Vernon said nastily but joy was clearly evident dancing in his eyes.

Ignoring him, Harry stared hard at the man before him. Well, he assumed it was a man by the height and broadness of the shoulders, but he didn't know for sure. 'Who are you?"  
Harry asked slowly.

Taking a step inside, the man held up at hand and shook his hooded head slowly, forestalling anymore questions. Harry's grip tightened on his wand as the man turned to his uncle.

"Give us a moment alone," he said quietly, almost inaudible. There was something familiar about the voice, but Harry couldn't quiet pin it. The man had spoken to quietly to draw a face to the voice.

With a large humph at being kicked out of his own living room, Uncle Vernon stamped past Harry, glaring angrily but holding his tongue. He had grown smarter over the years and had finally stopped insulting the "freaks" as he liked to call them, being to afraid of what they might do to him, especially since he learned that some of them where after Harry.

The man closed the door with one hand without turning away from Harry. "Who are you?" Harry asked again nervously.

The man moved his had to his pocket and before Harry had time to react he had pulled out a wand and pointed it directly at Harry. Harry quickly pulled his own wand arm out in front of him but it was too late. The man had sent a nonverbal disarming spell at him before he had fully raised his own, knocking the wand free of his hand and sending him several staggering steps backwards.

Catching his balance, Harry silently stood there, watching the man with wide eyes. How could this be happening? He thought wildly. Dumbledore said that he could not be attacked before his seventeenth birthday, but here he was being attacked.

"Your typical mediocre abilities shine through once again Mr. Potter," the man said, his voice loud enough that Harry could finally recognize the familiar sarcastic drawl.

"You traitorous bastard," Harry growled, advancing a step with clinched fists.

"Manners Potter," Snape said softly.

"You killed Dumbledore, I saw you with my own eyes." Harry said coldly. "You deserve no respect; you only deserve a long, painful death."

"Well, I suppose it is a good thing that we do not often get what we deserve," he said, flicking his wand slightly. Harry watched as his own wand soared to his nemesis' outstretched hand who quickly pocketed it. Harry couldn't believe he had been so stupid. And now because he had let down his guard for a few seconds he was caught by the vilest man on the face of the earth. The man who had killed Dumbledore and had betrayed everything that Harry loved.

Glaring, Harry stood unmoving before the cloaked man; waiting for him to make the next move. It was painfully obvious who was in charge. "So what are you going to do with me?" Harry spat. "Kill me now or bring me to Voldemort and hope for some tasty reward for being his lap dog?"

"Do not say the Dark Lords name," Snape hissed angrily.

"So you'll kill the only person who believed in you for Voldemort, but you still won't say Voldemort's name?" Harry yelled angrily, taking special care to pronounce Voldemort's name clearly. He could feel himself shaking with rage. Before him was the man he had sworn he would kill but who had just thoroughly caught him off guard and disarmed him without even trying.

"Silencio," Snape muttered, advancing towards him. "You will not say his name in my presence."

Crossing his arm defiantly, Harry glared up at him. He would not give him the satisfaction of complying with him in any way. If saying Voldemort's name made him angry, then Harry would say it every chance he got. It was now the only way he could fight back.

"Much better," said Snape. "Now you will be coming with me, on your own two feet or unconscious, it really doesn't matter. You can control the amount of force I use, but you will be coming. We need to have a talk before you go and get yourself killed in some moronic attempt at heroism."

Drawing his brows in confusion, Harry stared hard at Snape. What could he have possibly meant by that? It did not sound like the kind of statement one made to someone before giving them to their executioner which is exactly how Harry felt it would happen.

"No Potter," he responded to Harry's puzzled look. "We shall not be gracing the Dark Lord with your presence tonight. But you should be aware that he is very," he paused as if searching for a word. "Eager to meet with you again."

A shiver ran up Harry's spine at the last part. He could only imagine what type of meeting that would be and knew he would try to prolong that encounter for as long as possible.

"So, how shall it be?" Snape continued. "Do you wish to walk or be carried out of here?"

Sighing, Harry uncrossed his arm submissively. If he wasn't conscious then he had zero chance of getting away. At least if he walked out he might have some type of chance even if his pride was bruised. Without even seeing Snape's face, Harry could tell that he was smiling. That revolting traitor had loved to cause Harry discomfort from the first time they meant. If anything, it would only be worse now.

"Good, you can show signs of intelligence every now and then" the cloaked figure breathed. "Hold out your hands."

Lifting his hands out slowly, Harry bit his lip in frustration as Snape conjured up ropes and tied his wrist together tightly. He would see this man dead if it was the last thing he did, he promised silently as Snape pulled out an invisibility cloak and threw it over his head.

The Death Eater grasped Harry's arm tightly and began to lead him to the door. Glancing back quickly for any ideas in a last chance attempt of escape, Harry saw the terrified eyes of his aunt Petunia starring out fearfully at Snape's back. From the look on her face, she new her nephew had just been abducted.

Good, Harry thought. Now when the Weasleys came she can at least tell them what happened. There was still a small chance of him getting out of this horrible situation alive.

With that small bit of hope, Harry was lead out into the chilly night air. They walked a few steps away from the door before Harry felt the unpleasant feeling of side along Dissaparration.

(Author – well there you go, the first chapter is officially up. I hope you enjoyed it and please leave a review. I love knowing what you think whether it's good or bad, constructive criticism never hurt anyone! I'll try to get the next chapter up soon but I'm in the middle of finals so we shall see…)

P.S. if anyone can think of a good name for the story let me know! I find that mine might be a little lacking lol


	2. Shocking Revelations

Shocking Revelations

The unpleasant sensation of having the breath squeezed out of him and being compressed beyond endurance seemed to go on forever when suddenly he felt released. Starring around the deserted street, Harry took in the abysmal scene surrounding him. They stood at the end of a mossy cobblestone road in front of the last house on the street. All the neighboring ones were either bordered up or had broken windows except for the one before them and the musty smell of a dirty river surrounded them.

Jerking on Harry's arm, Snape began to walk towards the dark house, their footsteps echoing eerily around them. Every window had the curtains drawn and there were no plants or porch decorations giving the house a gloomy, abandoned look. Reaching the door Snape did a complicated flick of his wand and muttered something quietly. With a click, the door unlocked and Snape slowly pushed it inward with a low creek.

Starring around in surprise, Harry looked at the interior of what must be Snape's home. Still gripping him tightly, Snape led him through a tiny sitting room that was lined with black and brown leather bound books. Shadows consumed everything, but Harry could dimly make out a lamp hanging from the ceiling over a small sofa and old armchair which sat next to a rickety table that had one bare cup on it. The whole house itself had the feel of neglect and the air seemed stale, as if the doors and windows were never opened.

They left the room and approached a dark, narrow staircase. With a rough shove, Harry was forced to mount the steps; slowly walking into what he thought would for sure be death. The stairs protested beneath them with each step until they finally reached the top which was as void of light as the bottom half of the house.

Steering Harry towards an open door directly to their right, Harry entered a completely bare room. A single lamp hung down from the ceiling, but otherwise there was no furniture and no windows.

Next to him Snape raised his wand and a light suddenly burst forth from the lamp showering the room in a dim glow. He then turned and pulled off the invisibility cloak. "I have to take care of some business before we have our discussion," Snape said flatly. "I would recommend that you get some sleep. Don't bother trying to get out, I assure you that you won't."

Turning on his heels Snape left the room with his cloak waving behind him. The door snapped shut and Harry was left alone. Walking slowly to the door, Harry tried a half hearted tug but had known that it would be magically sealed before he had grabbed the knob. Sighing, he turned around and walked the perimeter of the room, inspecting it for anything that might help him.

After about ten minutes of hopeless searching, Harry plopped down in the corner dejectedly, his bound hands resting on his drawn up knees. He was really in a mess now, he thought dully. He had no idea where he was and had even less of an idea on how he could escape without his wand. How Snape had been able to breach the protection he had no idea, but Snape had and now he had to concentrate on staying alive. Snape had said that he wasn't going to give him to Voldemort, but he knew he couldn't trust anything that lying traitor said. Misplaced trust had gotten Dumbledore killed and Harry was not going to make the same mistake and die from Snape's treachery as well.

Many hours later Harry had finally dozed off when a click in the distance brought him fully awake. Glancing to the door, Harry watched as Snape entered. He had finally shed his hood revealing the long black hair, sallow face and black eyes of the man who had tried to torment every waking moment of Harry's life while at Hogwarts.

"Get up, it is time we talked," he said, glaring down at Harry, arms crossed.

Raising his eye brows, Hairy took a deep breath then leaned his head back against the wall. Watching him, Harry waited for a response.

"I'm warning you Potter, do not play your arrogant little games with me. We are no longer at Hogwarts and you are not protected by anyone here." Snape said nastily.

"Yeah," growled Harry, realizing that Snape must have taken off the silencing spell, "you made sure of that didn't you? By killing Dumbledore you made sure that no one would be protected."

"Do not talk like you know something when you haven't got a clue," Snape snapped, his eyes flashing dangerously as he advanced a step.

"Oh so I suppose it's alright that you murdered him then," yelled Harry, straightening up from the wall. Stopping himself, he clinched his teeth, biting off the rest of what he wanted to say. What he said didn't matter now. It would not bring Dumbledore back and it would not help Harry's situations. He would not lower himself to just yelling at Snape as he sat there in the corner of a room on the floor, a prisoner to the man.

"You are finally learning some control," Snape said mockingly, his lips drawn into a sneer. "It took you seventeen years though so I can't say that I'm very impressed."

Staring up at him, Harry realized that today was his birthday. He had to have been locked in the room for over three hours. By how rested he felt it was probably morning. Great, he thought dryly, each birthday gets better than the rest. Instead of the Dursley's he gets to spend it with Snape, the best birthday present in the world.

"Now will you be able to remember this new found talent or will I have to silence you again?" Snape asked disturbing Harry's miserable thoughts.

Harry glared up at him. "So you expect me to believe that you kidnapped me just to have a conversation and that you are not about to hand me over to Voldemort?"

"I told you that you will not say the Dark Lords name in my presence," Snape said angrily. "This is the last time I will tell you, if you do not heed this warning then there will be severe consequences. You are of age today so you no longer have your parents' protection and I cam make things extremely rough on you, understand?"

"Why would it matter if the protections gone?" Harry asked in confusion. "You seemed perfectly able to get me last night when it was supposed to still be working."

Snape smirked lazily. "Last night you did have the protection. I could not have harmed you" he said.

"But you-" Harry began but was cut off.

"Potter if you do not begin to use your brain then you will find yourself dead very quickly," he said tonelessly. Harry wasn't sure if he was trying to insult him or not. "Quite frankly I am amazed that you have lasted this long." He paused as if to relish in the thought of Harry dying as Harry scowled back. "The protection is that you can not be harmed while in the house of your mother's blood and I arrived without the intention of harming you and never actually did bring you any harm. I took your wand but that is all. You freely gave yourself up and left with me without a struggle, remember?"

Harry opened his mouth, but shut it quickly. Snape was absolutely right. He had been an idiot and just freely given himself to the enemy. He didn't know whether he should be laughing or crying. "But what about the Order, didn't they have someone watching the front door?" He asked at last.

"Yes, but they are stretched very thin right now and have no one to organize them or tell them what to do. They are like chickens with their heads caught off, just running around in every direction with out any real goal. They had one man stationed there but he was ill equipped and unprepared. Unfortunately for him he probably awoke this morning with a fierce headache.

"And in response to your earlier question, yes I only want to talk with you," he said. "Since you are so content to sit on the floor then we shall talk here," puling out his wand he conjured up a chair and sat down before Harry.

"Now," he continued. "You need to be informed about what took place that night that I am sure you vividly remember."

Harry opened his mouth to tell him he knew exactly what had happened that night, but Snape held up a hand forestalling him. "Listen Potter, I did not bring you back here to just recap what happened, I came to explain it."

Frowning, Harry stared hard at Snape before giving him a slight nod. He would listen to what he had to say but only because he couldn't see anyway around it.

"Good," said Snape. "Now I am going to start from the beginning and do not interrupt until I am through. I do not need you dim witted input with ever sentence.

"As I'm sure you knew, Dumbledore had me serving the Order by acting as a Death Eater and leaking information about what the Dark Lord had planned," Harry let out a humph but did not speak. Snape's 'acting' had been a little to believable in his mind. Ignoring him, Snape continued. "The other Death Eaters did not trust me and one day before term last year I had an unexpected visit from two of them. I believe you have met them both, Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange," he smiled tightly at the evil gleam that Harry knew had appeared in his eyes. Bellatrix had been responsible for Sirius' death but Snape continued on as if he had just mentioned someone unworthy any response. "The Dark Lord had given Narcissa's son Draco the task of killing Dumbledore, which of course he would not be able to complete, which would mean his death. It was his way of punishing Lucius for being caught.

"They came to me that night in search of help. Narcissa did anyways; Bellatrix did not believe that I was loyal to their cause. Narcissa asked me to watched over Draco and try and help him so that he would not displease the Dark Lord. In the end I had been persuaded to give a Wizards Oath or else risk Bellatrix going to the Dark Lord and revealing my less than eager participation to see the death of Dumbledore."

"You seemed eager enough in the tower," Harry spat. He had no idea why Snape would bring him to wherever here was to tell him this. Maybe Snape had finally lost it.

Surprisingly Snape nodded his head, "yes I did my job." He said quietly. "But only because Dumbledore had ordered me to."

"What?" Exclaimed Harry in disbelief. "You expect me to believe that Dumbledore told you to kill him?"

"I do not expect anything of you," Snape said mockingly. "Your lack of ability has prevented me from having any expectations of you for some time. But that is the truth; you can accept what you wish.

"I had told Dumbledore about the Oath immediately and even offered to give up my own life and not see it carried however he wished otherwise. As you must have noticed, he had sustained a serious injury to his hand. I do not know the full extent of what happened, he refused to tell me and I did not pry, but what ever caused that injury was slowly killing him. Through my potions and his powers we were able to delay it, but death was inevitable. 

"He told me that since he would die anyways, that it would be better if I stayed undercover and by me actually doing the deed then I would gain the Dark Lord's trust completely." He paused, staring intently at Harry.

"I do not know what you two were doing that night, but whatever it was the Dark Lord is impatient to find out. He suspects that the two of you have found a way to get around the many steps that he has taken to become immortal. Now that the protection is gone, he will stop at nothing to have you brought to him. And he still does not know the entire prophesy."

"The Prophesy was smashed in the Department of Mysteries," Harry said tightly, looking away from Snape's eyes. He had been practicing Occlumency everyday since returning to the Dursley's but he still did not feel confident he could block someone as skilled at Legilimency as Snape. He knew he had improved at blocking his mind, but he also knew that he still had a long way to go.

Snape laughed softly. "I know that Dumbledore was the one to hear the entire prophesy and I feel fairly certain that he passed it on to you." Clinching his fists as best he could while being tied up, Harry scowled up at his former potions professor. How cold he have forgotten? Snape had been the one responsible for Voldemort going after his parents, because of him his parents were dead; because of him Sirius was dead and now because of him Dumbledore was dead. 

"Why should I believe anything you say?" Asked Harry quietly, barely containing his rage. "Because of you everyone who has ever cared about me is dead. Why should I believe that you were acting under Dumbledore's orders when it would be so much easier for a cowardly man like you to just hide behind your precious Dark Lord? That's all you do Snape, you backstab others then run away like a coward!"

Snape stood up so quickly that the chair overturned making a loud crash. There was a wild look in his eyes as he pointed his shaking wand at Harry. "DO NOT EVER SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT!" He roared advancing towards him. Leaning back against the wall, Harry stared wide eyed at the man. He had never scene him lose such complete control except for right after Dumbledore died. He had called him a coward then too.

Suddenly Harry felt pain that felt like a thousands deaths. His whole body was jerking uncontrollably as the Cruciatus Curse filled him like needles, stabbing at every point imaginable. He knew he was withering on the ground, but he didn't care, he only wanted it to stop. Surely he would die if he was forced to feel such pain any longer. And blissfully it finally did.

He looked up at Snape through squinting eyes, sometime during the curse his glassed had fallen off. He could barely move, only able to grasp one shallow breath at a time. His body was still shaking from the pain and his cheek was pressed harshly against the grown.

Before him Snape was breathing roughly, wand still outstretched. "Do not ever speak to me like that again Potter, understood?" He whispered.

Glaring up at him, Harry nodded silently. He had no intention of bringing that upon himself again.

"You have no idea what I have been through and have done in my life," Snape continued in the same deadly whisper. "I have put everything at stake to help Dumbledore and you. You may know what it feels like to have someone close to you die, but have you ever had to stand by and let them die when you could have done something to help them but to act would hurt the cause you had been fighting for? Have you ever had to kill someone you care for more than yourself just to help that cause? Do not call me a coward while you sit around watching the world pass you by and watching others make all of the sacrifices." He suddenly cut off as if he hadn't meant to say that. He pressed his lips tightly together as he took a step away from Harry.

The silence was so thick that Harry felt as if he could reach out and touch it. He stared hard at Snape, truly seeing the man for the first time. After the last six years of knowing him, Snape had never shown Harry any emotions besides hatred and contempt. This sudden burst of raw feelings caught Harry so off guard that all he could do was stare. Neither seemed able to talk as the minutes slowly slipped by. It was Harry who finally recovered first.

"Your right," he said softly, but he was talking more to himself than to Snape. "I haven't had to experience any of that." He pushed himself slowly to a sitting position. His muscles screamed in protests but he ignored them. He found his glasses and awkwardly put them back on then, starring at the poorly tiled floor shook his head. "But how can I trust you? You have despised me from the first day we meant and, even if ordered to, have taken away the only person who could help me with what I have to do." He looked back up at Snape, searching his eyes for any sign that anything he had said was true. A few minutes ago he would have refused to believe any of it but now, after what Snape had said, he just didn't know. He had never felt so confused and alone in his life.

Suddenly Snape let out a hiss of pain and gripped his arm tightly. Harry stared at him in confusion, not knowing what was going on. "The Dark Lord calls," Snape said. "He will be upset that his attempt to capture you last night to did not work."

"He was going to try and get me last night?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Yes," said Snape, rubbing his arm. "As soon as your escort arrived at eleven thirty Death Eaters were going to appear and surround the house. They would have threatened to kill those muggles you live with and all the ones who live on that street if you did not surrender yourself."

"How did they know I was leaving at that exact time?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"There's a spy in the Order. I do not know who yet." Snape replied. "I have to go or he will grow suspicious. I will give you the choice to leave now or wait until I return and we can talk more. You must choose now."

Biting his lip in frustration, Harry stared up at Snape. If he was serious then Harry would be able to get away now but not learn anymore information. If he stayed then he risked Snape being caught or changing his mind and that would bring Voldemort directly to him. 

"Choose now Potter," Snape said urgently.

Harry sighed. It was time that he took matters into his own hand and started learning information himself. With a nod Harry answered Snape. "I will stay," he said. The words seemed so final, like he was pronouncing his own death sentence, but it was a risk he felt he had to take.

Snape nodded as if that was what he had expected. "You must remain in here, I can't have you rummaging around my house, there are dangerous objects lying around." He said. Harry nodded once. With a flick of his wand, Snape cut the ropes binding Harry's wrists. Angry red marks itched violently as the ropes fell away, his skin had been ripped too and slowly droplets of blood formed from when he had been struggling against the Cruciatus Curse.

"I will return when I can and then we will finish talking," he said as he left the room, shutting the door with a soft click behind him. Sitting there on the ground, rubbing his sore wrists, Harry stared silently at the back of the door wondering if he had just made the worse mistake of his life. 

(Author – hope you liked that! I will try to get the next chapter up soon. Please review; it motivates me to write faster! lol )


	3. The Trouble with News and Truths

The Trouble with News and Truths

Snape was gone for at least two hours by Harry's estimation. He had spent the majority of that time sitting there and thinking everything over and just trying to get things straight in his own mind before the man returned. Could it be possible that Dumbledore had asked Snape to kill him? Yes, thought Harry, if Dumbledore was going to die soon anyways then he would have gladly given his life early to save someone else. Especially someone who he trusted and Dumbledore had always been very firm about his trust in Snape to the surprise and irritation of many others.

And how many times had Dumbledore told Harry to not fear death and that it was just the next step in their own journey? When he truly thought back to that dreadful night in the tower, as soon as Snape had entered he could remember clearly what had happened.

"Severus…" Dumbldore had said softly, pleadingly.

Harry saw again, in his mind, how Snape had come forward, hatred consuming his features.

"Serverus… please…" Dumbledore had said, his last word that would ever be spoken before being brutally murdered. Unable to do anything, Harry had watched the green light shoot from Snape's wand, hitting Dumbledore and blasting him through the air and out of sight.

He shook his head, trying to clear away the image. Snape had killed him and Harry knew he would never get over that, but when he thought back to the way Dumbledore had acted, how he had pleaded with Snape even though he had always told Harry not to fear death, it just didn't add up. Unless he was pleading with Snape to do something else, telling him to cast the killing curse. As much as Harry loathed admitting it, Snape's story did seem very plausible given the way Dumbledore had acted. But he needed solid proof, something that went beyond just a gut feeling. There were too many years of hatred between him and Snape to just get over the fact that he had killed Dumbledore and now expected Harry to welcome him and his help back with wide, open arms.

Shaking his head again, Harry continued to stare around the room, his thoughts whirling in a tornado of frustration and confusion. On several occasions he had been tempted to just get up and leave the house or have a look around it at the very least. But without his wand he wouldn't get far, and he had a strong feeling that even if Snape had not locked the door, he had cast some type of spell to let him know if Harry left. If Harry wanted to get any information out of him then he would have to abide by his rules for the time being.

He had still been deep in thought when Snape returned; pushing the door open harshly and striding in. Strangely enough he had a newspaper in his hands. "You made the front page again," he snapped dropping it at Harry's feet.

Glancing up at him, Harry could tell he was not pleased about something. "Do they know it was you?" He asked.

Snape shook his head, "no but they think it was a Death Eater which made the Dark Lord very upset."

Glancing down, Harry was greeted by a very solemn picture of himself starring back and blinking slowly under the bold heading,

Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived Has been Kidnapped  
By Tiffany Skiter.

"Last night at approximately 10:20 a cloaked stranger appeared at the doorway of Harry Potter's relatives home" says an inside source who heard the story first hand from Harry Potter's uncle who refused to give a quote. Apparently they did not find the man suspicious at all until his wife, Petunia Dursley, witness the man surprise attack Potter and take his wand. He then bound Harry wrists and covered him in what we can only assume was an invisibility cloak, because he "just disappeared all of a sudden after the man threw a blanket over him" yours truly overheard her telling Ministry Officials who arrived at the scene at approximately 11:45.

Harry had planed to be leaving his relatives home that night at eleven thirty with Ministry worker Author Weasley as an escort. However, when Mr. Weasley arrived at the home and discovered that Harry Potter was gone, he quickly notified Ministry Officials for help.

"This is very disturbing," Minister of Magic Scrimgeour stated at the scene. "The poor boy has been through so much already… The Ministry of course is doing everything in our power to find Potter immediately..." The result of this incident could have a devastating blow to the Wizarding Worlds. Many have found strength in Potters defiance of He Who Must Not Be Named but who knows how the outcome of this horrible event will play out. Very few who have gone missing as a result of You Know Who have returned. (Story of The Boy Who Lived pg 3, Exclusive interview with Potter about the night You Know Who returned pg 6,)

"Well," said Harry at a lost for words. "So…er… Volde - I mean the Dark Lord - wasn't to thrilled about that I take it."

"No," said Snape, "he wasn't. He is very curious as to who might do a thing like that, especially when he already had a plan in place to get you. He wonders if there is a traitor among the Death Eaters who captured you for self gain. And he is very confused as to how someone managed to capture you at all since he thought you were unreachable before midnight that night. It was not a pleasant talk."

"Does he suspect you?" Asked Harry nervously, glancing behind Snape into the hallway, halfway expecting Voldemort to come marching up the stairs.

"I don't believe so," replied Snape. "I think he suspects Pettigrew for the time being. But it won't be hard for him to find out it's not him."

"Why would he think its Wormtail?" Harry thought out loud.

"The Dark Lord is very aware of the Wizards Debt he has to you," said Snape. "Saving you from being capture might be his way of repaying it."

"So all Volde – the Dark Lord - has to do is question him with Legilimency and then he'll know it wasn't him," said Harry. "Then what will he do?"

Silently, Snape stared at Harry as if measuring him up and deciding how much to tell him. "As I said before, he is eager to meet with you again. You have slipped through his grasps to many times and I don't think he will make a mistake the next time he tries to get you." Pausing, he stared harder at Harry making him shift uncomfortably, "I think you should be aware that he has almost given up on capturing you to bring you in. He may only try that once more before resorting to different means to get to you."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked quietly, not liking where this was heading.

"He knows your weakness which he has already used against you before," said Snape.

Remembering the Department of Mysteries all to well, Harry nodded. Voldemort had used Harry's love for Sirius to make him run head first into a trap when he came to "save" him. Voldemort knew that his weakness was that he cared too much for others and would come to their aid if he could. "He's going to capture someone else and use them as bait isn't he," said Harry, his breath catching painfully in his chest.

Snape nodded silently.

"Do you know when he'll do it or who he'll use?" Harry asked.

Shaking his head, Snape sighed. "Like I said, he will use that as a last resort. He would prefer to catch you himself, if he can't then that might lower his power in his follower's eyes. And he still does not know who abducted you"

"What will he do with whoever he takes?" Harry asked, dreading the answer.

"I'm sure he will send you something to inform you of who he has and what will happen to them if you do not come to him." He said softly. "He won't kill them at first; he'll wait to see if you come."

"And if I did come?" Asked Harry. "Would he still kill them?"

Crossing his arms, Snape sighed in annoyance. "I don't know what the whole prophecy said but I'm smart enough to know that if you give yourself to him then there will not be a happy ending for our side."

"Just answer the question," said Harry.

Snape was silent for a long time, Harry felt as if he was searching him more thoroughly than he ever had during their Occlumency lessons "No, he will not kill them," Snape said at last. "If he writes to you saying they will not be harmed if you come then they won't be. Whatever else he may be, he is a man of his word."

"Thank you," Harry responded quietly. "So when will he try and get me again?"

"As soon as you reappear," Snape said flatly. 

Dropping his head into his hands, Harry shook his head in frustration. "So what am I supposed to do?" He asked.

He could hear the shift of Snape's cloak as he advanced slowly. "I promised Dumbledore that I would assist you in whatever way I could," he said slowly, as if the words were being dragged painfully from his mouth. His normal sneer was gone but there was still an extremely pained way about his words. "As much as I would detest it, it might be best if you stay here until school begins. Once you and all your little friends are there he will have a much harder time getting at any of you."

"They're re-opening Hogwarts then?" He asked, but right as Snape nodded, he realized that Snape had just invited him to stay the summer with him. Starring up at him in disbelief, Harry shook his head. "You can't be serious."

"Potter, you should know by now that I do not joke," Snape responded irritably, as if the thought of even staying with Harry a moment longer pained him.

"I still don't know if I can even trust you," said Harry, getting slowly to his feet. He did not like the direction this was now heading. It was one thing to talk with Snape for a day, but another to spend a month with the man whose hatred for him could only be matched with Harry's own hatred.

"One would think that the mere fact that you aren't in a cell waiting for the Dark Lord to come and question you might be reason enough to trust me," said Snape sarcastically.

"Yes well one doesn't typically come into the person's home in the middle of the night and take their wand and force them to come with them either," shot back Harry with a scowl.

"Fine, you do not cease to amaze me with you arrogance Potter," said Snape angrily. "Dumbledore wanted me to keep you alive so that is what I am going to do. If you can not even accept the gift of my hospitality because you are to proud then I take back the option. You will be staying here until I decide to let you leave." He turned and stormed to the door.

"Wait," yelled Harry right on his heels. "You can't lock me in here for a month!"  
He was just a few steps behind Snape when he spun around, wand drawn.

"I can and will Potter," he said, pointing the wand directly at Harry's chest and forcing him to stop cold. Harry stood there mutely glaring at the wand. He remembered all to well the pain it had caused him earlier. "Now go back and sit down while I try to figure out a way to keep you alive without being caught, you arrogant ungrateful child."

Crossing his arms, Harry stood his ground, refusing to move.

"I'm warning you Potter, just because everyone else bows down to your superiority does not mean that I will," he sneered. "You have gotten away with a lot of stuff so far because of your famous name but that will not work here. You had better get use to obeying instructions or you might find yourself in a cell surrounded by Death Eaters whose main goal is not to see that you live through the night."

Turning back around, Snape left the room, the door slamming and the lock clicking in his wake. With a sigh, Harry uncrossed his arms and returned back to his corner. Sitting down, he drew his legs up again as he felt the unpleasant sensation of his stomach growling. This had to be the worse birthday he had ever had.

Author note – hope you liked it, please and thank you for reviewing!


	4. Time to Return

Time to Return

The days slowly trickled by as Harry remained locked in the room. By his estimation he had been in there for at least two weeks if not more and had only left the room when Snape let him use the bathroom or wash up. The whole situation reminded him horribly of the summer before going into his second year. The Dursley's had locked him in his room as well but at least that time he had furniture and a window to stare out of. And eventually Ron and his brothers had come in their flying car and freed him. He had no illusion that anyone would be coming to free him this time.

He wondered if someday, far into the future, assuming he lived that long, if we would look back over his life and find these situations funny. He doubted it, but the thoughts amused since nothing else would.

When Snape would enter to bring him food they almost never spoke or if they did it was short and to the point. Occasionally Snape might mention what Voldemort was doing to try and find him or that the Daily Prophet was only writing about his disappearance every other day instead of every day, but they did not talk about any of the stuff that Harry was dying to ask.

He hated the fact that he hadn't gotten any closer to finding a Horocruxes the entire summer and still had no clue what the last two were. He still had to find the cup and the locket and only had feeble guesses as to what the last two were. Dumbledore had strongly thought one was the snake and the other was something of Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, but what it might be and how he could get them, let alone destroy then, he had no idea.

If anyone might know, it would probably be Snape, but how could he ask the insufferable man without giving away what he was searching for. Harry doubted that Snape was on Voldemort's side, he would have turned him in by now, but he couldn't risk it in case he was. There were just too many "ifs" and dead ends.

Finally the day came when Snape entered the room and said he would be leaving soon.

"The train will be leave in three days," he said as he the door burst open and the man strode in wearing his typical solid black attire. "I think it is close enough that you can leave without a great risk of being attacked. But you should keep the fact that you've returned as quietly as possible or the Dark Lord may try to get you before going to school, understand?" Harry nodded dully. A month of captivity had zapped all of the energy from him and when Snape asked him these closed ended questions he didn't even bother with responding anymore.

"I think it would be best if you didn't say it was I who you were staying with over the summer," Snape said slowly. Harry let out a snort of laughter.

"What?" He asked impatiently.

"You make it sound like I'm here by choice," said Harry flatly.

"Well today you can leave and go get yourself killed for all I care. I got you through the summer and you're still alive so I did the best I could. Just don't do anything stupid while your at school and don't wander off with that insufferable know it all Granger or your side kick Weasley or you'll find yourself with the Dark Lord quicker than you can say 'run.' Got that?"

Harry nodded again, he could tell that Snape was actually being serious; he did not want Harry to get caught.

"So if I'm not supposed to say you were locking me up the whole summer then what am I supposed to say? I'm sure some people might be a little curious as to where I was for a solid month and who had me," he asked, barely keep the annoyance out of his voice.

"You like the attention, I'm sure you can make up some cock-a-bull story. You did it all the time when I was your teacher," he sneered. Harry choose not to respond to the snide comment, instead changing the conversation in a direction he'd been dying to bring up for a month and if he didn't ask now, he might never get the chance to.

"Do you know of any objects or anything that the Dark Lord has trying to get recently?" He asked, taking a giant risk but trying to be as general as possible. If he was leaving that day then he had to try and get some clues as to where the Horocruxes were.

"Why would you ask that?" Asked Snape suspiciously.

"Just curious," Harry replied innocently.

"Even after you have learned to close you mind, you are as easy to read as a book Potter," Snape said. Harry raised an eye brow at the back handed compliment. He had in fact been working on closing his mind everyday since Snape had captured him. He would hope that he had finally gotten it.

Snape continued on as if he hadn't just given Harry the first compliment of his life, "Obviously you're lying but I assume it has something to do with what you and Dumbledore were doing last year. As to your question, yes, the Dark Lord has been trying to find a way to get into Hogwarts for some time now, but the spells that Dumbledore left in place make it almost impossible for him to enter."

"What does he want in Hogwarts?" Asked Harry.

"I do not know, but he has been devising a plan to get in all summer," replied Snape. "Ever since Dumbledore died he's been obsessed with getting in. He hasn't discovered a way yet but he has people working night and day to break the defensive spells and charms that are keeping him out."

"Then how is it safe for everyone to be returning to school if he trying to break in there," asked Harry.

"Well I would assume that the ministry and the Order do not know of his plans so they would have no reason to fear re-opening," Snape said dryly.

"So you're just going to let everyone return and possible be killed without any warning?" Asked Harry in disbelief. "I thought you're supposed to be on Dumbledore's side and he would never want that to happen."

"Relax Potter don't get all dramatic yet," his former potions professor sneered. "Why do you think I just told you? The Dark Lord isn't even close to breaking through but if he does discover a way, I can just send you an owl and you can go save everyone. Isn't that what you like to do anyways?"

Grinding his teeth, Harry glared up at him. No matter what, some things would never change and their hatred of each other was one of those things. 

"So where am I supposed to go, Sirius's place?" Asked Harry angrily.

"I was under the impression that it is now your place," Snape said, painfully shoving the fact that Sirius was dead right into Harry's face. "But no, you can not go there. The Order no longer uses that place as Head Quarters. They seem afraid to since I know the location," he remarked dryly. "Go to the Weasley's home, I'm sure they will be more than willing to take you in."

"And how do you expect me to get there, you have my wand, remember?" said Harry, raising his eye pointedly. "Or should I start walking now?"

"Even after a month of being locked up you still have a large enough ego in you to support a hundred men," breathed Snape, eyes flashing heatedly. "I will give you your wand back, but I might suggest you keep a better watch on it. The next person who gets it might not give it back." 

"Perhaps you had better start being a bit kinder to me," Harry snapped, clinching his fists. "I could go straight to the press the moment I return and tell them it was you who took me. I'm sure you pals and precious Dark Lord would love to read that article."

"And I am sure you would love another article about yourself on the front page," said Snape. "However, if you were to do that then any assistance I may be able to provide you would be gone. And from the looks of things, you could use all the help you can get."

Fuming and not having any response to that, Harry crossed his arms. "Fine, I won't say it was you, but you have to do something for me. If I hear about you doing anything with the other Death Eaters that harms people then I will not hesitate to say something that might get you caught by the ministry or at least get you in trouble with the Dark Lord."

"Do not give me ultimatums Potter," said Snape. "You will not say my name because it will hurt you as much as it hurts me if I'm caught helping you. The Dark Lord will know that I informed you of his plans and he will try that much harder to catch you sooner than later," he advanced into the room, walking straight up to Harry. "And that means that you can tell no one at all. As I told you before, there is a spy in the Order," seeing Harry open his mouth he held up a hand. "No, I still do not know who it is, but I guarantee you that there is at least one there. When you leave you must go straight to the Weasley's then go to school. Maybe you can even make yourself useful and discover what the Dark Lord is searching for. Whatever it is, he is in a great hurry to retrieve it."

Nodding his head a fraction, Harry sighed. "Fine I won't say anything but I still don't fully trust you."

"That is your choice, but don't let your personal feelings get in the way of what Dumbledore wants us to do," said Snape shrugging as if he could care less about how Harry felt about him.

An uncomfortable knot had formed in Harry's stomach which seemed to happen every time Dumbledore's name was mentioned. Eager to leave the presence of the man who had killed him, Harry looked pointedly at the door. "Can I go now?"

Reaching into his robe, Snape pulled out Harry's wand and handed it to him. "Yes."

Grasping the wand in his hand, Harry stared at it intently. This had been the moment he had been waiting for ever since the moment he had witnessed Dumbledore's death. Snape was before him with his wand pocketed and Harry finally had his wand out and ready. He looked up at dark, greasy haired man who was standing there, arms firmly crossed with a sneer on his face. Harry could tell that the he was waiting to see what he would do, if Harry would be able to leave the man he had sworn he would kill alive.

Sighing, Harry lowered the wand to his side. He still hated Snape but if what he'd said was true, then he was his only hope at destroying Voldemort. For now he would let him live. Snape nodded, turned and swept out of the room, his cloak billowing behind him.

"Come Potter, you can not dissaparate in the house," he said without glancing back. Slowly, Harry followed him out of the room he had been kept prisoner in for almost a month.

He walked down the same steps that seemed like a life time ago and followed Snape through the tiny, unchanged living room to the front door. Hanging on the door knob was a tattered black cloak that Snape grabbed and hand to Harry. "Put this on and cover your head. We don't want you being seen incase my house is being watched. Apparate right outside of their yard, you won't be able to get any closer than that."

Nodding, Harry pulled on the cloak and pulled the hood up. Looking back at Snape, he saw the man starring at him oddly.

"What?"

"You don't look bad in black," Snape said with a smirk.

Glaring, Harry turned and reached for the door. "Don't try to contact me unless I contact you first," he heard Snape say as he opened the door and stepped out, breathing in the fresh air which he hadn't experience in what seemed like forever. The sun was about three quarters of the way down and the neighborhood looked at trashy and beat up as ever, but Harry couldn't help but feel the enormous relief of being able to walk where he wanted again.

With a soft click the door shut firmly behind him and Harry quickly remembered that he was outside of Snape's home, definitely not the safest place to be. Concentrating with all his might, Harry picture the spot right beyond the Weasley's home where he and Dumbledore had apparated just a year before. The uncomfortable sensation of being compressed from all angles surrounded him, knocking the air from his lungs as he felt himself successfully apparate to the spot.

He hadn't received his Apparation license yet, but he wasn't too concerned at the moment, his only thoughts were on his happiness at being away from Snape finally. He walked up to the house, passing the small sign reading The Burrow and went up to the front door. Knocking loudly, he waited for someone to come and answer. He deeply hoped that he hadn't come when no one was home.

"Who's there?" Asked someone from behind the door. Harry had forgotten about the stupid questions that the Ministry was telling people to ask.

"Harry," he said.

"Harry who?" Asked the voice from within.

"Harry Potter," he said irritably.

There was a long moment of silence then the voice, who Harry had finally realized was Mr. Weasley asked, "how can you prove that?"

"I don't know, ask me a question," he snapped. This was not the reception he had expected but he could understand Mr. Weasley's doubt since he had been gone for so long.

"Wait here for one second," Mr. Weasley said. He's probably calling the Ministry Aurors or something, Harry thought dryly.

Several moments later anew voice greeted him. "Harry, is that really you," asked Hermione tentatively.

"Yeah Hermione," he said softly. It was good to hear her voice again.

There was another moment of silence then she asked, "what did Slughorn give us at his party last year?" 

Harry smiled. "I couldn't tell you, I never went to one." 

"Harry," came Mr. Weasley's voice, "how do we know your not here against your will? That someone is not waiting for us to open the door?"

"Mr. Weasley," said Harry flatly. "I spent the entire summer before being caught pushing you guys away so that you wouldn't get hurt. I would never, no matter what they did to me, come back here and allow any of you to be caught."

He heard a sigh of relief come from within right before the door was pulled forward and a large amount of brown bushy hair was shoved into his face as Hermione grasped him tightly in a hug. "We were so worried abut you," she sobbed, her entire body shaking horribly. Over her, Harry could make out many red headed face starring intently at him. Hermione finally released her death grip and stepped back, allowing Harry to walk into the house.

It was such a weird feeling to see everyone again after so long. For a while it had seemed like he would never see a familiar face again except for Snape's.

Walking in, Harry saw Ron standing awkwardly next to his father. He looked very pale making his red hair stand out even more. Coming up to him, he gave Harry a tight, one armed hug, gripping his shoulder stiffly, "it's really good to see you mate," he said, looking Harry up and down as if to make sure he was real. "We thought… well… you know; it had been so long and not even a word from anyone," he shrugged slightly, his eyes still searching Harry up and down.

Looking at each face lined with worry, Harry felt awful that he had put them through that. He had asked Snape once, a few days after the kidnapping if he could at least write to someone and let them know he wasn't dead, but Snape had firmly refused saying that if anyone intercepted the letter and traced it then it would be over for both of them.

As soon as Ron stepped back enough to give her room, Harry felt himself pulled into a bone crushing hug by Mrs. Weasley who had tears streaming down her face. "Oh Harry dear," she wept. "Are you okay? Will of course you not!" She exclaimed answering her own question and pulling Harry in tighter. "You poor thing, you look awful did they not feed you at all? Oh it was just terrible, I am so thankful you're safe."

Blissfully she released him and Harry gratefully felt the air come back into his lunges, not that he minded Mrs. Weasley's hugs. Those had always been one of the best parts when coming over to the Burrow. She was the only person he had felt hug him like a mother would.

"Harry are you sure you're alright?" Asked Mr. Weasley.

"Yeah," said Harry nodding, "I'm fine."

"Then we need to get you to the Order as soon as possible, we've had almost every member searching for you every second of the day," he said. "You'd been gone so long that we weren't sure if there was much hope left, but we figured if, will…we might have heard…" he turned akwardly away, unable to finish.

"You thought they would probably let everyone know I was killed," Harry completed for him quietly.

"We figure You Know Who would want to brag about it or something," said Bill stepping up next his father and shaking Harry's hand gravely. "When we heard no word for so long, no one knew what to think."

"What happened?" Asked Ron weakly, he was still starring at Harry like he was a ghost.

"We need to get to Head Quarters first, then he can tell us what happened," said Mr. Weasley firmly. "We'll all be safer there anyways."

There was a murmur of consent by everyone and they quickly prepared to leave. Mr. Weasley led them out of the house to a point where they could disapparated, the rest of the Weasley's, Hermione, and he followed quickly behind on his heels. As they walked, Harry glanced at Ginny who was a few steps to his side. They met eyes briefly before she looked back to the ground. Harry had never seen her beautiful brown eyes so full of pain before. The thought of how she must have felt made him sick with guilt. He remembered all too clearly the long talk they had had on the train ride back. Her eyes had been just as teary as they were now.

"Molly, you take Ginny, I'll take Harry," said Mr. Weasley. "You don't have your license or know where the new Head Quarters are," he said to Harry's frown. Nodding, Harry watched him grip his arm tightly then felt the unpleasant feeling of Dissaparration once again. 

Author notes – hope you liked that! Let me know if there are any areas you think I can improve on (grammar, word choice, dialogue ect...) I appreciate any advice, the next chapter will hopefully be up soon. It just takes so long to be validated!


	5. Standing Aside

Standing Aside

They all arrived outside of a tall, broken down building with mildew and chipped brown paint streaking the walls and the house appeared to not have a door. Instead giant boards were nailed over where one should have been which someone had sprayed painted crude words all over. The windows were all covered in ivy that had grown up from the ground, and fallen parts of the roof littered the drying grass. They seemed to be in the middle of a deserted, overgrown field in the middle of no where. There weren't even trees or shrubs in the distance.

"Where are we?" Asked Harry.

"Later," said Mr. Weasley, pulling out a small piece of parchment. "Memorize this."

Starring down at the crumpled piece of parchment, Harry read 3728 Hornbull Home then looked up. Suddenly the broken down home did not look so, well, broken down. There were no longer chipped paint and a dark red door had appeared in place of the boards.

Following Mr. Weasley up to the door, they all entered silently and Harry was pleasantly surprise to see that the gloomy outward appearance did not reflect the interior at all. Bright lights lit the inside, showering everything and leaving a merry residue. They had entered a long hallway which was decorated with stationary pictures of a young couple with a child of around ten who always seemed to be smiling cheekily down on them. A small table with dark violate flower stood against the wall right next to a partway opened door. Voices could be heard from within.

"I don't care how dangerous it is," Harry heard the familiar voice of Professor Lupin ring out. "We need to try it. We have no idea what he's up to and maybe it will give us a lead on Harry."

"Remus," came Professor McGonagall's voice softly. "Even if we could find a way to get someone in, we don't even know where they are. It could be a suicide mission."

"Well since Snape revealed his true colors, we have no one who can give us information," Lupin replied loudly. "We can't just keep sitting here and accomplishing nothing. All we've done is react to what Voldemort does and arrive too late."

They came to the room and Mr. Weasley walked in clearing his throat loudly, breaking up the argument. Following in behind him, Harry stared back at the shocked faces of Professor Lupin, McGonagall, Flitwick, Hagrid, Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Mad Eye Moody, Fed and George Weasley, Elphias Doge, Dedalus Diggle, Sturgis Podmore, Hestia Jones and about six other people that Harry had never seen before. All were starring at him as if he were a ghost.

Lupin was the first to recover, striding up to him quickly and giving him a giant hug. "Merlin's Beard!" He exclaimed softly, "it is so good to see you." he released Harry, stepping back and letting his eye wander up and down him. Everyone else seemed to come out of their daze at Lupin's words and Harry was forced to stand there uncomfortably as each member of the Older came up and gave him a hug or shook his hand. 

When Hagrid had finally reached him, Harry thought he had for sure broken a bone, he was gripped so hard. "Yeh all righ' Harry? Had me scared to death when I 'eard what had 'appened. I couldn' believe it," he said, grinding Harry's bones tighter against each other again before releasing him.

"I'm fine Hagrid," Harry said. "It's good to see you to."

"Well I for one would like to know what happened to Potter," growled Moody, hobbling back to his seat, a dull 'thunck' coming from his wooden leg.

"Give him a break," said Tonks, winking at Harry. "He's just got back." She had bright lime green hair today. 

"Well in case you haven't noticed, we don't have the luxury of time," said Moody, glaring at her.

"Alastor, she was only joking," said Lupin solemnly. Turning to Harry he said, "but I do think it would be best if you told us what happened." 

"He's been through enough today," sobbed Mrs. Weasley who had never stopped crying since he arrived. "He only just got back, he's probably exhausted."

Even though Harry couldn't have been more rested, he had only sat in the same room for a month, he deeply appreciated Mrs. Weasley's caring words.

"We thought you were dead Potter," said Moody bluntly, "Not many can survive a month with all those dark wizards, especially when that persons been a marked man since he was born, how on earth did you escape?"

Harry smiled inwardly, he had forgotten about the grumpy old ex-Auror and his quirky personality. However the amusement quickly vanished as he saw all of the faces starring at him expectantly. Now he would have to tread carefully if he didn't want to get Snape caught, he found it ironic that he now had to protect Snape from his friends when usually his friends had to stop him from attacking Snape. It was funny how a war could change things.

Taking a deep breath he started from the beginning and told them exactly how he had been captured, the only change he made from the truth was that he said the Death Eater had kept his hood up the whole time and that he couldn't identify him. He said that the man had brought him back to some broken down house and locked him in a room where he had been forced to wait.

Deciding that he would go off the theory that Voldemort had, he said that the Death Eater had taken him before the scheduled attack in some attempt to bring glory to his name or blackmail the Dark Lord, and had ended up locking him in the room the entire time. He finished it off lamely saying that he'd forgot to lock the door and that Harry had coincidentally found his wand while he was escaping. It wasn't his greatest story, but it would have to work and surprisingly they all seemed to accept it.

"So he locked you in a room for a month, that's harsh." Said Fred sympathetically, George nodding beside him in agreement.

"So he was using you against You Know Who then?" Asked Mr.Weasley.

Harry nodded, "Yeah, he was waiting for the Dark Lord to contact him or something I think. Maybe waiting for a reward or something, I'm not sure." For some reason about half of the Order was looking at him oddly and Harry wondered if they could see through his lie that easily.

There was an awkward silence then Moody asked slowly. "So did he force you to do or say anything?"

"No," said Harry. "He didn't do much of anything with me. I think he was afraid to damage the Dark Lord's goods." Again there were the uncomfortable stares which were beginning to annoy him, a couple were even out right frowning at him. 

"What?" He asked irritably, he really didn't feel like have the Order question him on his story or gawk at him like everyone, he got that enough from people he didn't know, he didn't need it from those he did.

Looking around the room, no one answered. A few even adverted their eyes when he glared at them. "What is it?" He said, louder this time.

"Harry," said Hermione timidly. When he turned to look at her, he saw confusion and even a little fear in her eyes. "You've just called Voldemort the Dark Lord several times." A shiver went around the room at the name, but Harry was too busy gapping at Hermione as what she meant hit him harm.

"Oh," he said quietly. He glanced around the room and saw that all eyes were focused on him not to mention that a few of the wizards and witches that he didn't know had even drawn their wand.

Then the whole of the situation truly hit home and he couldn't help himself from laughing. He had been using the name out of habit with Snape so that he wouldn't blow up again and had just gotten used to it.

"You think I've sworn myself to Voldemort?" He asked in disbelief, mainly directing the remark towards those who had their wands out. A collective shiver circled the room again, but the Order members kept starring hard at him.

"No one's accusing you of that Potter," said McGonagall stiffly, but her lips were unusually thin. "Perhaps you should explain why you have taken up the new name though; it would clear up a lot of confusion. And Lamerek, Faihert, the rest of you, put your wands away." Under Professor McGonagall's stern eyes, the few who had their wands out quickly lowered them, but none fully pocketed them

"Well, I would imagine you might stop using the name to if it brought the Cruciatus Curse upon you when you did," Harry said flatly, hurt that they could even think such a thing. "But I mean you could be right in your guess too, I mean he either killed or was responsible for the deaths of both of my parents, my Godfather, Cedric and Dumbledore; that would make anyone want to join his ranks. Oh, and except for the little fact that he's tried to do me in about four times since I was a baby, we would probably work really well together, yeah actually I seriously think he could be my new best mate, sorry about that Ron," he said, rolling his eyes dramatically towards Ron who was starring at him with his mouth hanging open. "I guess you've been replaced by Voldemort, I hope you don't mind."

"Harry, I didn't mean it like that," said Hermione sounding very hurt.

"Then how did you mean it?" Snapped Harry angrily. His voice was rising to yell but he didn't care. "I would have thought that at least my closest friends would know me good enough to know that I didn't swear myself to that murderous bastard. Besides Dumbledore, who's now DEAD! I'm the only one who can even say I've stood up against him."

"Well it's not normal for a teen to use the title," said one of the men who Harry had never met and who had taken out his wand earlier. "And you've been gone for a month and come back without a scratch, hardly a plausible story, unless you made some kind of deal with Him."

Harry turned and gazed angrily around at the other order members, trying to discern if that was how they felt as well. The looks on several of their faces said that they fully agreed with the man. "I can't believe that you would dare accuse me of joining up with him while you sit around and do absolutely nothing to try and stop him. You are an insult to the Order that Dumbledore began."

"Potter…" Warned Professor McGonagall.

Glaring at her, Harry shook his head angrily. After all that he had been through and all that he had seen because of the raving lunatic of a dark wizard, he could not believe that anyone could possibly think he would join him. He knew that he was about to cross a serious line by exploding like this in front of the order but he couldn't of cared less.

"No," he shouted. "This is ridiculous! You accuse me of being a traitor when I'm the only one who's done anything to actually try and stop him. Unless I'm mistake it was me who stopped him my first year and oh wait, yep it was me again who faced a basilisk and stopped Voldemort from coming back once again in my second year," he rolled his eyes as many once again flinched at the name. "For Merlin's sake half of you are afraid of a name. You haven't even met the actual mad before but you cower when some one just says his name. You're all terrified of him and what he does but instead of doing something you sit around and do nothing as always. Last time I checked everyone was just going to sit around my first year and let him steal the stone which was horribly protected to start off with."

"Now see here Mr. Potter, you have a right to be upset but you are now out of line. You shall not speak in that tone of voice to us and it was Albus Dumbledore himself that set up that protection and which was nearly impossible to get through."

With a dry laugh, Harry turned towards her. Seeing the harden look in his eyes, Professor McGonagall actually took a step back. "Professor," he said with mock politeness, "surely if three first year students can make it through then one might think that Voldemort could as well. And not to mention the fact that the school has been housing a giant Basilisk for Slytherin only knows how many years. Except for me no one bothered to look for that either when Voldemort decided to send it on a killing rampage."

"Potter, only the heir of Slytherin could get down there and control the beast," Professor McGonagall snapped, beginning to get angry herself.

"Well lucky me then, I must be his bloody long lost heir since I got down there."

"Don't be absurd Potter of course your not his heir," growled Moody.

"Oh yeah, I forgot, everyone seems to know more about me than I do so of course your right." Moody made to stand up, but Tonks quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him back into his sat

"It doesn't matter anyways," he spat. "But even forgetting all of those things, none of you can say you've lost as much as I have to Him. None of you can say you were a marked man at the age of one, or that your parents were killed by Him just because of a stupid prophesy. Or that you had to witness your school mate kick it just because Voldemort only wanted to keep you alive so that he could use your blood, blood of an enemy I might add, so that he could return.

"And correct me if I'm wrong, but when's the last time one of you had Voldemort, or I guess I should call him master now, yeah that's right, had your master break into your mind and trick you into thinking that the one person who you love and who actually loved you back is being tortured to death because he wants to get you down to that bloody Department of Mysteries. And then after you realize that it was a trap, are then forced to watch that person you tried to save die. None of you have experienced that! And then to put the icing on the cake, which one of you can say that you watched the only man who could help you survive this blasted war be killed right before your eyes while helpless to do anything about it. Because Dumbledore was with me and trying to help me, he was killed."

He took in a deep shuttering breath, shutting his eyes quickly. He had never voiced Dumbledore's death being his fault out loud before. The admission rebounded hollowly in his ears as his throat tightened again at the though of Dumbledore's death. Opening his eyes, he was even more infuriated to see everyone in the room staring at him like he was from another universe.

"And I am so sick of people starring at me everywhere I go!" He shouted, all his anger over his life fully coming out. All the glass cups in the room shattered and the windows collapsed inwardly as his power fumed with his anger. Turning with clinched fists, he walked towards the door, those behind him quickly stepping back at the deadly look in his eye. Without looking he said softly but very clearly, "everyone either expects me to do something amazing and save the whole world or else, like you all and the ministry, seen to try and find something wrong with me. Well I've had enough; I"m done with this war. The Boy Who Bloody Lived has had enough so you can go out and find yourself a new chosen one." And with that Harry Potter walked through the door.

Author Note- well there you have it, I hope you enjoyed it and that you will please, pretty please, review. I truly will add more chapters sooner if I feel like people actually are enjoying this fic. Thanks!


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